


Honey, I Broke The Sky

by atomicmuffin



Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age: Inquisition, 僕のヒーローアカデミア | Boku no Hero Academia | My Hero Academia
Genre: Adventure, Alternate Universe - Dragon Age Fusion, F/M, Flirting, Humor, POV Aizawa Shouta | Eraserhead, no beta no edit no grammar we die like illeterate idiots
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-17
Updated: 2020-05-17
Packaged: 2021-03-02 22:06:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,434
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24234037
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/atomicmuffin/pseuds/atomicmuffin
Summary: As if he doesn't have enough on his plate already, with the Thedas-wide civil war, the Chantry falling apart, the improvised and arguably not quite legal army Nemuri somehow convinced him to endorse the creation of and the freaking demon-leaking breaches, Seeker Aizawa Shouta is also expected to keep Midoriya alive despite his terrible case of hero syndrome and resist the impulse to beat Mistress Fukukado to the death with her own crossbow.If the Creator had mercy, he would have put an end to Shouta's misery long before this Breach nonsense ever happened.Or: The trials and tribulations of Seeker Aizawa Shouta, Right Hand of a dead Divine and exhausted handler of Inquisitor Midoriya: a Dragon Age Inquisition AU.
Relationships: Aizawa Shouta & Iida Tensei & Kayama Nemuri & Yamada Hizashi, Aizawa Shouta | Eraserhead & Midoriya Izuku, Aizawa Shouta | Eraserhead/Fukukado Emi | Ms. Joke
Comments: 8
Kudos: 39





	Honey, I Broke The Sky

**Author's Note:**

> This work is not quite done but it has been sitting in my drafts for more than a year, so I thought I might as well post what I've got. I'm super fond of it, though I most likely won't write more of it.  
> Knowledge of DAI required to read this, it won't make sense otherwise.  
> UNBETAED

Before he is a seeker, a nevarran or a warrior, Aizawa Shouta is a man of duty. His world view is set in shades of 'must' and 'have to', of ' necessary' and 'honor'. As a servant of the faith, he must devote his existence to the Creator, must protect the innocents, must enlighten the path of the losts. As a servant of the Truth, he must always, always aim to discover and expose what is accurate and what is not, he must seek the truth like a hound in a perpetual hunt.

As a servant of Divine Justinia, he's duty-bound to obey her commands and dig out whatever sordid tales she wants him to expose. There are worse masters to follow, all in all. The Divine aims for the greater good, never ignore her advisors' input, and more importantly, is full of common sense. A rare quality within the higher ranks of the Chantry.

Shouta is, unfortunately, quite the dutiful man indeed. A character flaw he never managed to outgrow. And it's that very same duty and stupid belief he owes something to the world that lead him to this dreadful room, in this shithole of a city, in the company of the most obnoxious woman in Thedas.

"So, Seeker!" Mistress Fukukado, infamous rascal, cheater, liar and, most important of all, friend of revolutionary apostates, says as she casually crosses her legs. "Not that I'm not enjoying our one on one private time, but do you intend to let me leave at some point? Sadly, I do have businesses to attend to, you know. Affairs to run. Money to gain. Beers to drink until I forget the end of the world is upon us. That sort of stuff."

Shouta can't help but snort at the amount of bullshit coming out of her mouth. That's all Fukukado Emi has done since he tracked her down to that trashfire they call a tavern and dragged her to the Gallows: lie, lie and lie again. Credible lies wrapped in truths, obviously. Fukukado is both a talented storyteller and a veteran bullshitter, she knows more than anyone the best lies are those close to the truth. But so does Shouta.

He's hardly surprised by the lack of cooperation. From what he knows of her, the dwarven woman has a very developed sense of self-preservation, only overruled by her deeply rooted loyalty to her friends. A quality Shouta would be inclined to appreciate, if that loyalty wasn't directed to the apostate who, indirectly or not, voluntarily or not, did set their world on fire and didn't have the decency to stick around to deal with the consequences.

Consequences Shouta, and the rest of Thedas, has to deal with instead. Quite a Champion indeed. What else could be expected from a rotten city like Kirkwall? This hell produces desperate apostates and blood mages the same way Midnight spread misleading rumors: _constantly_.

"Tell me where Hawks is, and you'll be free to go back to your...activities," he flatly declares, knowing perfectly well it won't happen so easily.

His prisoner sighs dramatically, crossing her arms around her chest. Her inadequately covered chest, he might say, for the sake of accuracy. He doesn't know what is the most appalling, her outrageously risqué chemise or the color clash between her bright yellow vest, her red and striped pants and her _pale green hair_. Why can't people be reasonable and stick to good ol' black is a perpetual source of aggravation and confusion.

"I already told you I don't know where he is! At least five times!" Fukukado rolls her eyes in mock annoyance. "Probably gallivanting in Antiva and making a nuisance of himself."

Not Antiva, Aizawa mentally notes. "And Dabi?"

The mention of her _other_ apostate associate is enough to sober up. Her expression is unusually grim when she says: "Dead in a ditch somewhere, I reckon."

Aizawa is not going to cry on that one. Death is the most merciful punishment this abomination deserves, after murdering Grand Cleric Elthina and countless other innocent in cold blood for the sake of his one-sided feud against authority, exploding an entire chantry, causing an uprising across the Circles and throwing Thedas into civil war.

If he is dead at all. Shouta doesn't trust Fukukado as far he can throw her. Less than that, even.

He sighs. "Listen. I'm not here to punish Hawks." Not _now_ , at least. It's not like he can throw the apostate in a Circle anyway, considering they're all disbanded. "We need his help to solve this mess. He's at the center of it all, whether he meant to or not. Rebel mages would be willing to cooperate with him."

Those are awful times where the Divine must beg the help of potential maleficars. Desperate situations call for desperate measures, and the situation certainly is desperate enough.

"You overestimate both Hawks' inclinaison to ally with the Chantry and his diplomatic capabilities, Seeker," Fukukado laughs, sounding genuinely amused at the prospect. "In any case, I don't know how many times I have to tell you this, _I have no idea where he is_ _hiding_. We're running in circles here."

And who's fault is that? Fukukado is his only lead to Hawks. The other known members of the Champion's party, the elven blood mage, the Rivaini pirate and the former Tevintide slave are long gone, leaving the Captain of the city guard and Fukukado behind. Shouta believes the former when he claims he doesn't know where his friend is, while he wouldn't trust the dwarven merchant if she told him the sky was blue.

"You know, I'm starting to think you don't want this lovely date to end," Fukukado grins dangerously. "It's the only explanation, really. I don't blame you, mind you, I'm such a riot to have around."

She's mocking him, obviously, trying to make him uncomfortable in order to force him letting her go her merry way. He can't help but twitch in annoyance. "You're testing my patience, dwarf."

"Aww, c'mon, you can admit it. Not a lot of occasions to be in company of attractive ladies like myself in your job, right, Seeker?" She winks so heavily it looks painful. It's certainly painful to Shouta's sanity. "I'm not opposed to do this again, as long as you bring me flowers next time like a gentleman, instead of dragging me through the streets like a criminal."

"You are a criminal. And what would you do this flowers, sell them on the black market?" He deadpans. "I invite you to tell to Midnight's face she's not attractive when we get to Haven. I'm sure she'll be very interested by that opinion."

Fukukado winces at the mention of his colleague, the left hand of the Divine and infamous spymaster. Played at her own game, for once. "Err, I'd rather not. Also, _when we get to Haven_? What is this _we_ you speak of, Seeker?"

"Since you refuse to cooperate, you can convince the Divine of your innocence. Perhaps she'll be more willing to believe you that I am."

That, and the fact taking his closest friend to the Conclave might actually force Hawks to come out of his hole. He seems like the sort of person who would carelessly rush to a highly sensitive meeting for the sake of a friend. He seems like the sort of person who would rush to a highly sensitive meeting, period.

"Wow...I didn't know you craved the pleasure of my company _that badly_ , Seeker," Fukukado laughs with false cheer. "I'm going to have to refuse though, as tempting as your offer is…"

"It's not an offer. I give you three hours to prepare. Then we'll leave for the Conclave."

Fukukado abandons her dismissive nonchalance for the sake of indignation. "What? You can't just _kidnap_ me!"

Shouta very much can, as a matter of fact. With the Viscount long departed and Knight-Captain Meredith recently so, the only person left in charge of this fucked up city with the authority to overrule his is former Knight-Commander Tensei. The man is not a great fan of Hawks' clique, and is currently on his way to Haven anyway.

He glares down at her without saying a word. She sighs. "Can I at least take Bianca with me?"

"Who's Bianca?" he asks against his best judgement.

Fukukado brightens visibly. Shouta is already regretting everything that lead him to this moment. It's going to be a very long trip.

.  
.

It's a very long trip. Longer than expected, by five days. _Five. Whole. Days_. Ferelden is the theater of total chaos, with templars and mages actively trying to murder each other, tearing the country apart. It's a disaster. This is exactly why they need this Conclave to work. Why they need an Inquisition, to bring back peace and order to a land in the middle of civil war and on the edge of self-destruction.

Naturally, Fukukado handled the situation with the gravity and delicacy it deserves.

...Just kidding. Literally. She spent the whole journey making _jokes_.

"Next time you take me on a romantic trip, Seeker, may I request for less murder, less mud and less _Ferelden_?" she shudders close to campfire, exhausted but not enough to shut the hell up for once. "I know very nice places in Orlais? Or perhaps you are more of an Antiva kind of man? Oh, I know, Nevarra! That's where you're from after all! I have never been there, but I have heard the whole necromancy culture is quite the rage. You could show me around, introduce me to the family, living and dead, haha!"

He ignores her.

"Speaking of Nevarra," she muses out loud the next morning as if they were having a conversation instead of that parody of communication. "May I mention that your accent is the sexiest thing ever? Like, I get the chills just hearing it. Not I hear it a lot, with how talkative you are, Seeker! That's fine, I can speak for two. See how good we are together already! Complementing each other, you brooding in the corner, me being a ray of sunshine and joy."

He ignore her.

"Maker," she breathes out after he decapitated a rogue templar about to cut her in half. " _Marry me_."

Shouta does not manage to ignore her. "No." He grunts, to her delight.

Asking for his hand every goddamn moment of every goddamn day becomes her favorite recurring theme in her jokes. It's possibly the most infuriating thing Shouta has ever been subjected to, and he has dealt with a lot of annoying people in his life. He has to remember himself smothering that constantly chattering mouth in her sleep wouldn't be very ethical.

"Do Seekers pledge a vow of celibacy? Asking for a friend. Very curious creatures, those friends."

They don't. Not that Shouta is about to tell her that.

"So, _how_ does one become Hand of the Divine? Election? Promotion? Random pick? Did you dazzle her with your stormy looks and sheer competence? Are you two close? Maker, am I meeting the _parents_ already? Is the Divine in person going to give me the shovel talk? That would be most glorious thing to ever happen to me. And I fought dragons on a regular basis."

He saved the Divine from an assassination attempt, which Fukukado definitely knows. He's not even going to acknowledge that ridiculous "parents" comment. If anyone would give the shovel talk, it's Nemuri, but she would be more likely to throw them in a closet and lock the door herself. Not that Shouta is about to tell her that.

"I'm a very good party, you know. I have a shitton of influence in surfacian dwarves circles, and merchants in general. My family is like...surfacian nobility. Sort of."

Shouta is Nevarran royalty. Very remotely, but still royalty, with a technical right to the throne if half a hundred of his family members happened to die at once. Not that Shouta is about to tell her that.

"I'm rich! Beautiful! Hilarious! I have a very cool crossbow! I write books! Famous books!"

Shouta does know, unfortunately. Nemuri is a _fan_. She's very excited for the writer's arrival, despite the circumstances. Shouta kind of was too, before he was forced to confront the fiction to reality. Not that he's about to tell her that he read her books and did not hated it.

In the end, despite Shouta's best efforts, they arrive too late for the Conclave. However, they get to Haven just in time to watch the Template of Andraste explode and the sky be torn open.

What the _hell_.

.

Catastrophes of epic proportions are concepts Shouta is thoroughly acquainted with. It is, after all, the role of a Seeker to run toward disasters instead of away like any sane person would, to bring back order and peace where chaos is raging. He has seen in fair share of desperate situations before, such as, but not limited to: a failed royal coup that got his parents murdered, an attempted assassination against the Divine that got him his current position and last but not least, an open war between mages and templars.

None of that can compare to the feeling he gets when the Conclave explode in front of his eyes.

"What…" Fukukado whispers, for once dropping her mask of cheerful casualness. As horrified and incredulous as he is. "What just happened?"

The rush of magic is suffocating, even as far as they are from the Temple of Andraste. Where the Temple of Andraste used to be, at least. He doesn't want to believe it, but he knows without a doubt no one inside the building could have survived an explosion that massive. The Divine is dead. Most of the higher ranks of the Chantry are dead. The most willing to cooperate leaders of both templars and mages are dead, blasted away in one single blow.

His Divine is _dead_.

And then, there is the sky over the mountain. Alight with furious green, stormy, thriving with electricity and the unmistake pull of raw magic. Throbbing angrily like an open wound.

A gigantic rip in the Veil.

Fukukado is utterly silent by his side for once. She follows along without a word as he rushes in direction of Haven, her crossbow firmly held in her arms.

"Don't try to run away," he says before they reach the gates.

Fukukado snorts. They both know Shouta won't have the time to catch her if she attempts to slip away in the commotion. Fukukado Emi and Hawks are genuinely the least of his problems right now.

"I won't, Seeker," she vows quietly. "You have my word."

Her word isn't worth much to him, but he finds himself believing her for the first time since they met. They share of a look of understanding, knowing that the next hours are going to be nothing short of pure hell.

The camp is in complete chaos, unsurprisingly. Civilians running in panic, pointing at the bleeding sky or hastily gathered their pack, inquisition soldiers two seconds away from doing the same.

"Seeker Aizawa!" An inquisitor scout hurries at the gates, his freaking out face easing with relief. As if he genuinely thinks Shouta is going to solve their problems by his mere presence. Wouldn't that be convenient. "Thanks the Maker you're here!"

Shouta nods in acknowledgement. "Explain the situation."

"I-I don't really know, milord!" the scout shakes his head in disbelief. "The temple exploded in the middle of the Conclave, and this giant thing in the sky appeared. There are other rips too. Demons are coming from them, and we don't know how to stop it!"

Fukukado tenses visibly at the prospect of demons. A relatable reaction. Open doors to demons is a nightmare. "Andraste's holy knickers, demons are slipping through those things? How is that kind of shit even impossible? I have seen some fucked up magic before, but nothing on that scale."

Shouta would scold her for her irreverence if he had two fucks available to spare. He too has never anything like this. Meaning he has zero clue how to deal with it either.

"Are there survivors?" He asked.

"None," the soldier answers mournfully. "Except for the dwarf. He came out of a rift. Some say it's Andraste herself who saved him. Others say he's responsible for the explosion."

"A dwarf? Causing this?" Fukukado repeats skeptically. "With what, the magic we've been collectively hiding from the world for millenium?"

"I dunno, ma'am. Just repeating what I heard."

"Shouta! You took your goddamn time."

Nemuri slides out of her tent, shadows and grim clinging to her leather and skin outfit. She looks exhausted. The Left Hand of the Divine is always tired, Shouta knows, but she's usually careful to hide the signs of her mortality under a sly grin and sharp make-up. An amusing contrast to Shouta himself, the Divine often laughs, who looks like the old man with one feet in the tomb he is in his soul.

Fukukado, who knows everything about everyone, recognizes the Nightingale immediately, yet stays silent, for once. Had the situation not be so grave, there is little doubt in Shouta's mind that she would have been making countless innuendo with Nemuri.

"I was delayed." He says succinctly. Nemuri has seen what it's like out there. She knows why his return took longer than expected. They have bigger issues to deal with. "What the fuck happened here?"

"I have no idea," Nemuri declares solemnly. "The Conclave just. Exploded. There was no warnings. We found no survivor, except for one dwarf who crawled out of a rift. He hasn't woken up yet. There is a strange magical mark on his hand that seems to be connected to the Breach, and to be killing him."

Interesting. It wouldn't be irrational to assume this dwarf is responsible for the disaster. Responsible for killing the person Shouta vowed in front of the Creator to protect. But if he has learnt everything out of his decades of service as a Seeker, it's that assuming makes an idiot out of you.

Also. There is something Nemuri is not telling him. She might be one of the best spymasters in Thedas, but he's used to sniff out lies and omissions and he _knows_ her. "And?"

"And… an apostate showed up to offer his services as a Fade Expert," Nemuri winces. "He's the only reason our only suspect is still alive."

"Oho," Fukukado whistles with fake cheer. "That's no good, Ma'am, don't you know apostates are all _evil_?"

"Enough," Shouta growls as he glares at his unrepentant prisoner. "Take me to them."

"Right," Nemuri drawls out, visibly reluctant to do that. "About the apostate in question…"

He doesn't like where this is going. "What about him."

"Don't get mad but. He's a rat."

A what. "A _what._ "

"A rat. A literal rat. Or some kind of rodent, I'm not exactly sure."

" _Nemuri_."

.

Inside their camp set in complete chaos, there seems to be only one person who looks like he knows what he's doing. His name is Nedzu, that's how he introduced himself at least, and he's a rat who can walk on his back legs, use magic and speak. Speak better than the vast majority of humans Shouta had the misfortune of being forced to converse with.

"To put it simply, the Fade expends all the time across the veil and into this reality. I'm the product of one of those interactions, and before you ask, no, I am not a demon, an abomination, or a spirit. I was not born in the Fade, and I am not commanded by one of its creatures either," Nedzu cheerfully explains. "I'm just an animal who acquired the ability to use my brain, and I would like not to see my universe break in half, if you don't mind."

"A reasonable preference," Shouta simply says. This is insane, but at this point, it doesn't really matter, does it?

"I agree." Nedzu nods along. "Now that's out of the way, about the Fade-touched stone child…"

Thanks to Nedzu's suspiciously convenient knowledge about the Fade and its drawbacks, the dwarf wakes after one day in coma. One day of fighting an endless stream of demons, rescuing survivors, wondering how exactly they are going to solve this clusterfuck. One day of trying not to think of all the people Shouta knew in the Conclave, of not thinking about the Divine he failed to protect.

Needless to say, the second the dwarf opens his eyes, Shouta is immediately on the case, and he has exhausted his meager quota of tolerance a while ago.

"What did you do?" he demands as soon as their prisoner has opened his naive green eyes.

"I-I…" the dwarf stammers confusedly. "I don't-"

"The Conclave. What did you do at the Conclave? Answer now."

"Wha-What happened? I-I'm sorry, I don't remember anything!" he shouts out, hissing in pain when his limb burns green. "What's that thing on my hand?"

"I'll help you remember, don't worry," Nemuri says, her voice snapping like a whip as she takes a languid step toward their terrified prisoner.

Shouta catches her by the arm. "Nemuri."

If he were anyone else, the merciless Nightingale might have cut off his hand for getting in her way. But he is the Right Hand to her Left Hand, and she trusts his judgement. Shouta is a paranoid bastard, so if he believes this...this barely grown child isn't responsible for this disaster, then she'll restrain herself.

"Someone made the Conclave explode," Shouta bluntly explains. "It killed everyone but you, and opened a giant breach through the veil. Demons have been slipping out since. You slipped through one of those rifts."

The dwarf gasps incredulously. " _What_? The Conclave has been destroyed? And everyone… everyone is dead…"

He sounds genuinely sorrowful and horrified. Either he's such a brilliant actor he can fool an experimented Truth Seeker, he forgot everything, or he's truly not involved with this disaster. Not on purpose, at least.

"But that makes no sense, the Veil… the Veil isn't what an actual veil, it's a metaphor, how could it be ripped open?" the prisoner mumbles as he stares at the angry mark imprinted on his skin.

Shouta raises an eyebrow. A dwarf knowledgeable in magic theory? Curious, considering their race is incapable of producing the smallest sparkle. Probably used to that reaction, the boy explains himself. "I-I know it's weird for a dwarf, but I have always been fascinated with the Fade...oh, not that I would do anything like this! I just read some books, maybe questioned a few mages when I could, which wasn't often...though now there is no Circles, it's been easier to find-"

"Not that this conversation isn't absolutely _riveting_ , but we do have an urgent issue to focus on," Nemuri interrupts their prisoner mid rant, dripping of sarcasm. "Shouta, I'll be at the advanced campement. Be quick."

Shouta nods in agreement before Nemuri storms out. They'll sort out the details of who's responsible later. Right now they need to find a way to close the Breach at best, stabilize it at minima. He unlocks the prisoner's manacles and drags him outside. The dwarf glazes at the ugly wound throbbing in the sky, eyes wide with astonishment. He falls on his knees, his youthful features distorted with pain.

His eyes are the same shade as the Breach. What an odd… coïncidence.

"This mark on my arm... it's linked to the Breach," the dwarf breathes out. "You believe it can be help close it?"

He doesn't look like much, but he does think fast, doesn't he? "Yes. The mark will kill you if the Breach isn't closed. We barely managed to keep you alive."

The dwarf shakes his head, something like determination shining through his eyes. "You don't need to tell me this, Sir. I would have come anyway."

Shit. Shouta knows that voice. It's the Hero Voice. He hates the Hero Voice. Practical people are easy to work with, but heroes? Heroes are disasters waiting to happen. Whatever. They're already in the middle of a disaster anyway. "Hurry then."

"Ah!" the dwarf scrambles behind Shouta's forceful strides. "M-My name is Midoriya Izuku, by the way!"

Great. Shouta doesn't give a fuck. Still, he sighs and curtly reciprocates: "Aizawa Shouta."

That answer gets his reluctant companion disproportionately excited. "A-Aizawa Shouta? The Truth Seeker! The Hero of Orlais! The right Hand of the Divine! S-Sir, it's such an honor!"

A fanboy. Amazing. Exactly what Shouta needed to make his day even worse. "I'll sign whatever you want if you seal the Breach."

"I'll do my best!"

.

The mark can seal rifts. It's nothing on the Breach scale, but it's _something_. Tentative hope perks up among the ocean of Shouta's cynicism.

"Wow," Midoriya gasps dumbly at his own hand. "I'm a dwarf, and I did magic!"

"The mark. The _mark_ did magic," Nedzu corrects him with the most teacher-like tone Shouta has ever heard. "You did well, though, for a first time use. Learn to mind your timing."

To his credit, Midoriya takes the talking rat's advice in stride with admirable tolerance. Considering the circumstances, perhaps a mammal erudite apostate isn't that strange.

"Seeker!" Fukukado screeches when she tries to jump on him. Shouta steps to the side, and she catches herself easily enough, probably expecting his visceral recoil. "You saved me just in time again! You _do_ like me after all, I see clear in you, haha!"

"I did not save you," Shouta flatly counteracts. "You were in our way."

"Sure, sure!" she laughs merrily, as if they aren't in the middle of a war against an army of demons. "I see Freckles is awake! And he can close those demon thingies! How convenient."

"F-Freckles?" Midoriya repeats, rightfully frightful of the shameless tornado called Fukukado Emi.

"Don't mind her, she gives awful nicknames to everyone," Shouta sighs. He drags Midoriya by the back of his collar. "Let's go."

"Hey Seeker, my nicknames are not _awful_! They're perfectly tactful! Classy, even!"

He should have said almost everyone. Still. Freckles. Shouta barely noticed Midoriya had those under the casteless tattoos. Calling him that is… a kindness.

.

The good news is that the Breach has been stabilized thanks to Midoriya's efforts. That's it, that's the only good news.

The bad news is that the Breach is still open, the Temple is blooming with an odd lyrium red as blood Fukukado swears is toxic and has the unfortunate propriety to make people lose their shit, the Chantry is howling for their heads and the Divine has been murdered and they have no idea who is responsible.

"But at least we have a way to fight back!" Hizashi cheers when he vigorously pats Shouta's back. "Think positively! I know your grumpy soul is capable of that!"

Shouta glares at their diplomacy expert and professional thorn on his side. If Nemuri hadn't vouched for the loud Antivan noble...he would have taken him in anyway. The Inquisition needs all the help it can get, and Shouta has to admit Hizashi is good what he does. 'What he does' being charming people to donate their pants while convincing them it was their idea all along.

"Not everyone is against us," Nemuri points out. "Father-Mother Thirteen sent us a message asking to meet the Herald."

'The Herald of Andraste', Shouta scoffs. Apparently that's the story the survivors of Haven brewed out of a few hazardous guesses, and that's the narrative the Inquisition is going with to give itself legitimity. Because the signature of the Divine herself isn't legitimate enough for those fools in Val Royaux.

"The Hinterlands have fallen into complete chaos," their army commander, Iida Tensei, formerly Knight Captain of Kirkwall Circle, muses out loud as he puts a figure on the map. "It could be useful to set back order there and help refugees. Shows that we are both capable and good-intentioned."

"And perhaps approach the rebel mages," Nemuri nods along, to Tensei's visible skepticism.

"I still believe that the templars-"

And here they go again.

"Haha, don't start arguing now," Hizashi diverts the oncoming dispute when he simultaneously slips an arm over Nemuri's shoulders and pats Tensei's back. "I'm hearing noise."

The room falls silent. Indeed, there seems to be some ruckus outside the Chantry. Shouta would have never noticed if not for Hizashi bringing it up. For all his voice is loud and grating, the Antivan truly has an exceptional hearing.

"I'll see what's going on again," Tensei sighs.

He comes back five minutes later, an exhausted and sheepish Midoriya trailing behind him. Looks like their Herald survived after all. Nedzu promised he would, but Shouta had his doubts.

"So?" He asks curtly without looking up from the map.

Midoriya freezes at the entrance, green eyes wide with panic. What the heck is wrong with him, it's not like Shouta was talking to him and expecting a report from his semi-comatose state. "I'm alive! Sir!"

Shouta remains silent at this display of obvious information, while Hizashi mouths out an awed "cute." Is that really the same person who fought a goddamn Pride Demon without blinking twice?

"So the Grand Chancellor was making a scene." Tensei saves the boy from further embarrassment.

"Sir," Nemuri cackles. "So the Grand Chancellor was making a scene, _Sir_. Pay our Lord Seeker and Neverran royalty the respect he deserves, you fool."

Sarcasm. That's how Nemuri copes with grief. Shouta has lived through the process enough times to know.

"Shut it, Nemuri," he says. She would hate if he acted differently toward her. "Midoriya."

"Yes Si-Yes?" the dwarf straightens and has to resist the urge to salute.

"You've met our spymaster Kayama Nemuri," when she threatened you of torture, he wisely chooses to let unsaid as he gestures at the smirking woman.

"Spymaster?" She puts her hand over her leather clad chest. "What's with the baseless accusation? I'm just your local information gathering manager."

Shota ignores her. "Our army commander Iida Tensei, former Knight-Lieutenant from Kirkwall."

Tensei smiles awkwardly as the weight of 'former Knight-Lieutenant from Kirkwall' falls upon his shoulders. He'll have to get used to that. Kirkwall's hell is going to haunt this man for a very, very long time. "A pleasure."

"And our chief-ambassador Hizashi of house Yamada." In answer to his introduction, Hizashi makes a needlessly complicated reverence. Midoriya tries to replicate it as he can. The effort is endearing enough, of not impressive.

"I'll be honest with you," Shouta bluntly declares. "We managed to stop the Breach, thanks for your assistance, but it's still there, and we're all collectively in some deep shit."

"See, this is exactly why _I_ am the diplomat, and Shouta is the guy with the sword," Hizashi whispers loudly.

Shouta never bothered to sugar-coat anything before, he's not about to start now. Midoriya is young, but he's not a child. He's proven before he can handle highly stressful situations without losing his calm. His continued existence is directly at stake, and the world's with it. He can take raw and harsh honesty. He _deserves_ raw and harsh honesty.

Midoriya meets his eyes without flinching.

"Everyone is either wary, terrified or blindly faithful in you, the so called Herald of Andraste. As for ourselves, the Inquisition, no one knows what to do with us. We want to fix this shit. We need to fix this shit. Government are too busy solving their own political game. The Chantry is too disorganized to step up efficiently. There is no one else."

 _There is no one else_. It's what makes the fuel of heroes. They have to do something because it has to be done and no one else is doing it. Typically the kind of thinking Shouta isn't very fond of. Graveyards are full of people who thought themselves indispensable.

Unfortunately, he cannot deny it applies here. As far as they know, Midoriya's mark is unique. The only way they have to close the Breach.

"I understand," Midoriya solemnly says. "I'll do my best to help."

That's something. The fact they work with the only person with known abilities to close the breach gives them the legitimacy the Divine's death put in jeopardy. Now Shouta's job is mostly going to be keeping this suicidal fool alive.

"Though...could someone explain to me what's up with this Herald thing?"

Hizashi brightens ad Shouta makes a tactical retreat: "I'm glad you asked! How do you feel about religious figures of authority, hm?"

Oh, this is not going to be disaster, _at all_.


End file.
